List of films banned in Pakistan

Pakistan started banning films since 1962, with restrictions tightened in 1979 when Muhammad Zia ul-Haq implemented an Islamization agenda and an even stricter censorship code.^[1] A ban on Indian films and media (which was not always strictly enforced) was lifted in 2008, with the compromise that cinemas in Pakistan must equally share screening time between Indian and Pakistani films.^[2][3]

List 2018

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2018	Pad Man		Bollywood
2018	Pari		Bollywood
2018	Raazi		Bollywood
2018	Veere Di Wedding		Bollywood
2018	Parmanu		Bollywood

List 2017

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2017	Viceroy's House		Bollywood	banned in Pakistan for misrepresenting Mohammad Ali Jinnah (Founder Of Pakistan).
2017	Tubelight		Bollywood
2017	Tiger Zinda Hai		Bollywood
2017	Dangal		Bollywood	was banned when Actor-Producer Aamir Khan refused Pakistan Censor Board's demand to remove scenes with the Indian National Flag and Indian National Anthem.[4]
2017	Naam Shabana		Bollywood	was banned because it portrays Pakistan in "bad taste".[5]
2017	Jolly LLB 2		Bollywood	was banned because the film has references of Kashmir issue.[6]
2017	Raees		Bollywood	was banned due to its "objectionable" content, as "the content undermines Islam, and a specific religious sect, (It also) portrays Muslims as criminals, wanted persons and terrorists".[7]

List 2016

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2016	Dishoom		Bollywood	was banned because the movie talks about an Indian cricketer getting kidnapped before India and Pakistan match and that cause the country to think it is against Pakistan.[8]
2016	Udta Punjab		Bollywood	was banned due to use of abusive language.[9]
2016	Shivaay		Bollywood	was banned because of India-Pakistan border conflict.[10]
2016	Ae Dil Hai Mushkil		Bollywood	was banned because of India-Pakistan border conflict.[11][12]
2016	Neerja		Bollywood	was banned by Pakistan for allegedly showing the country in bad light, a fact denied by Sonam Kapoor, who portrays slain flight attendant Neerja Bhanot in the film.[13]
2016	Ambarsariya		Pollywood	was banned in Pakistan due to direct references to Indian intelligence agency RAW inside the movie.[14]

List 2015

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2015	Calendar Girls		Bollywood	was banned by Pakistan due to objection in one of the dialogue in the film.[15][16]
2015	Phantom		Bollywood	was demanded to be banned by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa.[17] Phantom is about 26/11 attacks based on book Mumbai Avengers by Hussain Zaidi.[18] Lahore High Court banned movie on 20 August 2015[19] as federal government wanted petition by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed to be dismissed due to its uselessness and the government doesn't wanted to be involved unnecessarily because no one in Pakistan asked for NOC to screen the film.[20][21] LHC judge Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan asked the government that what it could do to stop the movie CDs from being sold in market after ban.[22]
2015	Baby		Bollywood	a Bollywood film starring Akshay Kumar and based on Terrorism in India was banned in Pakistan.[23]
2015	Bangistan		Bollywood	a film about two suicide bombers was banned by the Pakistan's Central Board of Film Censors.[24]

List 2014

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2014	Children of War		Bollywood	was banned for the portrayal of the Genocide in East Pakistan by the Pakistani Army. Bangladesh 1971[25]
2014	Haider		Bollywood	was banned as it depicts Kashmir insurgency, a sensitive issue in country.[26]
2014	Noah		Hollywood	was banned due to the portrayal of Prophet Noah by an Actor.[27]

List 2013

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2013	Bhaag Milkha Bhaag		Bollywood	a film based on life of athlete Milkha Singh was banned in Pakistan.[28]
2013	Raanjhanaa		Bollywood	Banned because the film portrays an image of a Muslim girl (played by Sonam Kapoor) falling in love with a Hindu man and having an affair with him.[29]
2013	G.I. Joe: Retaliation		Hollywood	Banned due to the film's depiction of Pakistan as an unstable state and the fictional portrayal of a "foreign invasion of Pakistan’s nuclear installations".[30]

List 2012

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2012	Khiladi 786		Bollywood	was renamed as Khiladi for release[31] but promos and ads of the film were banned in Pakistan.[32]
2012	Ek Tha Tiger		Bollywood	was banned because ISI agent role was depicted by Katrina Kaif's character.[33]
2012	Agent Vinod		Bollywood	was banned as it was against ISI spy agency.[34][35]

List 2011

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2011	The Dirty Picture		Bollywood	was banned by authorities.[36] However, it was later cleared for release only a week after the Indian premiere.[37]
2011	Delhi Belly		Bollywood	was not allowed to be screened by the censor board.[38]

List 2010

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2010	Lahore		Bollywood	was banned as censor board objected to some dialogues and scenes of film.[39]
2010	Tere Bin Laden		Bollywood	was banned in Pakistan fearing the title could be misconstrued by Islamist extremists as reason for attack.[40][41]

List 2006

Date	Movie Name	Country	Film Industry	The Reason Banned
2006	The Da Vinci Code		Hollywood	was banned due to protest by the Christian community in Pakistan.[42]

References